The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 04, 2002, Page 10, Image 10
10 ^ THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, September 4,2002
_ ^ m _ GAME SCHEDULE
I \ m \ I I | I | L MEN’S SOCCER vs. N.C. State in Durham, N.C., 5 p.m. Friday
CONTACT US I_I I WOMEN’S SOCCER at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m. Friday
■ I I i VOLLEYBALL vs. Arizona State, 7 p.m. Friday
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I \ #I'M I L 1 FOOTBALL at Virginia, 7:45 p.m. Saturday
E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com B B B rV J VOLLEYBALL vs. Creighton, 10 a.m. Saturday
Gamecocks survive season opener
New Mexico St.
gives Carolina
all it can handle
BY KYLE ALMOND
THE GAMECOCK
The last time the USC football
team defeated New Mexico State,
it was ecstatic. On Saturday, it
was just relieved.
The Gamecocks were chal
lenged late in the game by a tough
Aggies team, but behind a strong
rushing attack led by new quar
terback Corey Jenkins, USC held
on to win its season opener 34-24
at Williams-Brice Stadium.
“They played us even; they
played every bit as well as we
did,” USC head
qpach Lou Holtz
said of New
Mexico State. “But
we found a way to
win. That was the
important thing.”
Carolina’s fans
i._ j_ 11_
LU1 g UU vv 11 llic
Holtz goalposts two
years ago when
the Gamecocks broke a 21-game
losing streak with a 31-0 whipping
of the Aggies. This time around,
USC struggled to put away a team
it was heavily favored to beat. The
Gamecocks led by only three
points going into the final quar
ter.
“We started off real slow
tonight, but it’s the first game,”
Jenkins said.
Jenkins, a 26-year-old senior
from Columbia, was making his
first career start for USC. He
rushed for a game-high 113 yards
. but struggled throwing the ball.
He didn’t complete a pass until
midway through the second quar
ter, and he finished 9-for-18 with
166 yards and'a touchdown.
“Corey Jenkins missed some
reads, but I thought he did a good
job protecting the ball,” Holtz said.
“He certainly competed very well.”
Holtz was more concerned
with the play of his defense, and
rightfully so. USC allowed 419 to
tal yards Saturday, including 212
rushing yards. Only once last sea
son did the Gamecocks allow so
many yards on the ground.
“Unless we can be a good de
fensive football team, we don’t
have a chance,” Holtz said. “We
aren’t going to outscore people.
That’s not our nature.”
The Aggies confused Carolina
for most of the game with their
option offense, and quarterback
Buck Pierce finished 17-for-26
with 207 yards and a touchdown.
For spur Rashad Faison, who
was a part of USC’s 18th-ranked
defense last season, it was frus
trating to see New Mexico State
have so much success offensive
ly. The Gamecocks are starting
seven new players on defense.
“On defense, our inexperience
showed a bit,” Faison said.
“Everybody played OK, but we
have to get better if we are going
to win the SEC.”
Holtz was especially troubled
by the play of the secondary,
which lost three starters to the
NFL in the offseason.
“We would not be very good
mailmen, because we were in the
wrong ZIP code with their re
ceivers,” Holtz said.
Everyone took a positive ap
proach to the closer-than-expect
ed result, however.
“We have to go back and real
ly look at this, study the film,”
said Holtz, who moved into
ninth place with Bo
Schembechler on the NCAA ca
reer wins list. “But we are 1-0,
and we’ll go from here and see
what happens.”
Defensive tackle Langston
Moore agreed.
“The win gives us something
to build on,” he said. “It is good to
get a win under our belt. We had a'
lot of new guys out there.”
Carolina will play a nationally
televised game this weekend at
Virginia. The Gamecocks, who
moved from 22nd to 19th in the
ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll,
will take on the Cavaliers at 7:45
p.m.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
USC’s Andrew Pinnock (No. 4) rumbles down the sideline during the Gamecocks’ 34-24 win over New Mexico State on Saturday.
The senior fullback rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
GAME 1
The Carolina
offensive line
i Experienced group
led by tackle
. Travelle Wharton
| (left) dominated the
NMSU front seven
and created plenty of holes for QB
Corey Jenkins and FB Andrew
Pinnock to run through.
“We found a way to win.
That was the important
thing.”
LOU HOLTZ
use FOOTBALL HEAD COACH
FB Daccus Turman's fourth-quarter
touchdown run gave the
Gamecocks a 26-17 lead over the
Aggies, and Carolina never looked
back, scoring another touchdown
off an NMSU turnover to seal the
win.
419
New Mexico State's total number
of yards, an amount only
surpassed twice last season by
Gamecock opponents (Alabama
and Florida).
Club Corner
Bodybuilding and Fitness
The Bodybuilding and Fitness
Club is sponsoring the USC
Octathlon, an eight-sport fitness
event that will be held Saturday,
Oct. 19 from 1-5 p.m. at the Blatt P.E.
Center. Entry is open to USC facul
ty, staff and students.
Entry forms are available in the
front lobby of Blatt. You can also
send an e-mail to Harrison
Greenlaw at hg@sc.edu to request a
form.
The octathlon is comprised of a
one-mile run, an obstacle course,
the grip hang, the shoulder press,
the leg press, a 400-yard swim, chin
ups and flexibility events. Pictures
of these challenges are shown un
der the “Octathlon” link under the
Bodybuilding and Fitness Club’s
Web site, http://web.sa.sc.edu/bbf.
Entry is $5. USC Octathlon T
shirts are awarded to each entry
completing the eight challenges. .
Trophies are awarded to the best
male and female athletes.
Field Hockey
The Field Hockey Club practices
from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays and
Wednesdays at Blatt Field E, which
is under the walkway to Bates
House. The club is open to men and
women and will play its second sea
son with the National Field Hockey
League this fall.
mountaineering ana
Whitewater
The Mountaineering and
Whitewater Club meets every
Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Gambrell
Hall Room 151. This semester is
planned to be filled with trips for
rock climbing, whitewater rafting,
backpacking, caving, kayaking, ca
noeing, mountaineering and lots
more.
No experience is necessary, gear
is provided, and transportation
across the tri-state area is paid for.
Dues are only $25 for the fall
semester.
Club Corner will run every
Wednesday in The Gamecock. To
be included, e-mail your
information, in paragraph form,
to gamecocksports@hotmail.com.
The deadline for each issue is
Monday at 2p.m.
Jenkins flashes potential
in first start for Carolina
New quarterback
struggled early
but improved
as game wore on
BY MATT ROTHENBERG
THE GAMECOCK
It was a long awaited sight at
Williams-Brice Stadium on
Saturday night as Columbia native
Corey Jenkins finally got his op
portunity to start as quarterback
for the Gamecocks.
After spending a season as Phil
Petty’s understudy, Jenkins provid
ed even more flashes of hope for
Carolina fans than in 2001. The coach
ing staff, however, wanted to make
sure he got a feel for the game first be
fore they loosened the reins a little.
“Skip (Holtz) said he wanted to
run (Jenkins) and let him get the
feel of the game before he had him
throwing the ball,” head coach Lou
Holtz said. “We were going to run
him a lot, let him get hit and let him
get involved in the game.”
And run Jenkins did. With 113
yards, he collected nearly half of
USC’s rushing total. Jenkins
stressed that his rushing will be a
major part of the Gamecocks’ of
fensive attack this season.
“It’s a part of the offense that,
when we get out there, the quarter
back’s going to run the ball and the
running backs are going to run the
bail,” Jenkins said. “It’s part of the
game plan because that’s one of my
weapons — my best weapon. Even
though we’re a little short on quar
terbacks, you’re not going to see me
run out of bounds too often.”
Jenkins didn’t complete his first
pass until late in the first half, how
ever. His nerves early on took a toll
on his play, but after being on the
field for a while, Jenkins began to
settle down.
“Your head’s kind of spinning a
little bit, and I think it’s just be
cause it’s the first game,” he said.
“I came out in the second half and
things just completely changed. I
was relaxed and I was still excited,
but at the same time, I completed
some balls and completed a deep
baU.”
That long pass to receiver James
Adkisson resulted in Jenkins’ first
passing touchdown on the Division
I level. He finished with 166 passing
yards on 9-of-18 passing.
♦ JENKINS, SEE PAGE 11
PHOTO BY CANDI HAUGLUM/THE GAMECOCK
Corey Jenkins made his much-anticipated debut at
starting quarterback Saturday against New Mexico
State and rushed for a game-high 113 yards.
Volleyball falls short of tournament title
BY ROBIN NURRE
THE GAMECOCK
Tradition on the volleyball
court continued for the
Gamecocks this weekend.
Carolina opened the season
with a successful weekend at the
Coca-Cola/Michigan State
Classic, winning a
nair nf matrhpQ
before losing to
host Michigan
State in the cham
pionship game.
Even with the
loss, USC remains
undefeated in sea
son openers un- Christopher
der head coach
Kim Christopher. The Gamecocks
opened up Friday by defeating
Oakland in three games — 30-16,
31-29 and 30-20.
The Gamecocks played two
matches Saturday, downing
Georgetown in three games be
fore falling to the 15th-ranked
Spartans in four games.
Against Oakland, Cally
Plummer led the team in kills
with 13 followed closely by Sam
Alban and Niece Curry, with 11
and 10 kills.
A nice surprise for USC was
the play of freshman Sarah
Morgan, who began her career
with nine kills and seven digs.
“I was pleased with freshman
Sarah Morgan’s play,”
Christopher said. “She played
tight in some spots, but overall
she had a good showing.”
The (gamecocks put their pow
erful defense to work in the first
match, shutting down the Golden
Grizzlies and holding them to a
.063 hitting percentage.
In its second match of the tour
nament, Carolina played a tough
Hoyas team but came out with a
decisive victory — 30-27,30-14,30
27.
“I was worried about
Georgetown,” Christopher said.
“They are a very good team,”
Morgan had another excellent
showing, notching her first dou
ble-double for USC, with 13 kills
and 11 digs.
Berna Dwyer was tops in hit
ting percentage at .438, while fel
low senior Megan Hosp dished
out 36 assists and had 12 digs.
“Megan Hosp has had two good
matches, and Berna, who led the
team in hitting percentage this
morning, has been playing very
well right now,” Christopher said
Saturday.
In its final match of the tour
nament, USC was dealt its tough
est hand.
After coming out strong to win
the first game, Carolina couldn’t
overcome some errors and fell in
four-20-30,31-29,33-31 and 34-32.
The games seesawed back and
forth, with numerous lead
changes, but the Gamecocks just
couldn’t finish it off.
“I thought it was a great
match,” Christopher said. “It re
ally could have gone either
way.”
Carolina had a strong showing
offensively and defensively, with
four players recording double fig
ures in kills.
Plummer had 15 kills and 20
digs, while Morgan tallied 15 kills
and 12 digs.
“I thought it was a great
match. It really could
have gone either way.”
KIM CHRISTOPHER
USC VOLLEYBALL HEAD COACH. ON HER TEAM'S
CLOSE LOSS TO NO. 15 MICHIGAN STATE
Hosp also a great game, record
ing a season-high 55 assists and
16 digs.
Dwyer and Alban led all play
ers in kills with 17 apiece.
Several USC players were
named to the All-Tournament
team, including Hosp, Plummer
and Dwyer.
Carolina’s next action is at
home this weekend at the
Carolina Classic.
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